The rupee dropped by 22 paise to Rs 44.60 a US dollar in the morning trade on persistent dollar demand from importers on the back of firm dollar overseas.

According to forex dealers, there was good dollar demand from corporates as well as some buying by oil refiners, which weighed on the rupee heavily.

In a fairly active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit opened lower at 44.55/56 per dollar against Monday’s closing of 44.38/39 per dollar.

At 10.30 a.m., the domestic unit was quoting at 44.49/50 per dollar. The rupee moved in a range of 44.45-44.60 against dollar in the morning deals.

The US dollar index edged higher in the Sydney market in the early trade, recovering some ground against the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc in a bout of safe-haven buying.